MANILA, Philippines – Citizens with complaints or reports on the delivery of disaster relief can now direct their concerns to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through the Disaster Response Assistance and Management Bureau’s (DReAMB’s) e-Reklamo.

Calamity victims with a valid email address may access the online platform through the website. Complainants will be assigned a ticket number, which they will use to monitor the progress of their report.

They may also file their report by emailing ereklamo@dswd.gov.ph or texting DSWD<space>ereklamo<space>”Name of Complainant” <space>Location<space>”Complaint Message” and send to 3456 (any network). Each text is charged P1.

“The DSWD welcomes feedback from the general public on the disaster response services it provides whether it is a complaint or compliment.  It is a way to gauge the quality of our services for our continual improvement,” said DReAMB Director Felino Castro V.

“We will also do our best to resolve these complaints, especially those that fall within our scope of work,” Castro added.

Faster relief services

Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo pledged to continue improving the feedback system to deliver faster services not only to the victims of calamity but also beneficiaries of other social services.

She urged local government units to cooperate with the DSWD in the distribution of relief.

“We know that the DSWD cannot do this alone: we need all the help and support that we can get from the public and local government units, including barangays. We appeal to Filipinos to help strengthen the resilience of their communities and means of responding to emergencies so that the relief and recovery processes can also be faster and easier after the calamities have passed,” she said.

Vice President Leni Robredo earlier said that there were some barangays devastated by Typhoon Nina in Camarines Sur that have yet to receive aid from the national government. She also noted that some LGUs have not distributed the relief from DSWD because of incomplete delivery. (READ: Robredo: Palace ‘overreacted’ to ‘slow relief’ remark) 

Taguiwalo, meanwhile, said that the DSWD will continue to strengthen its coordination with the LGUs in processing and identifying the needed assistance.

“Bagamat tuloy-tuloy ang pagpapadala ng tulong ng DSWD, nakikita naming mahalaga na mas pahigpitin ang tulungan at koordinasyon sa pagitan ng ahensya at ng mga LGU upang malaman kung ano ang mga pangangailangan ng mga pamilyang apektado ng kalamidad,” said Taguiwalo.

(While the DSWD continues to provide assistance to affected municipalities, we still need to reinforce our coordination with concerned LGUs  in assessing what the families need to hasten their recovery.)

As of January 5, DSWD has released P224.97 million worth of relief assistance to 512,141 families or over two million individuals affected by Typhoon Nina. – Rappler.com